Azalea City Golf Course is Popular, Affordable
There are many choices when choosing a golf course to play in and around Mobile, but perhaps one of the best and certainly the most popular is Azalea City Golf Course.
Located at 1000 Gaillard Drive in Langan Park, Azalea City Golf Course is just a 9-iron away from the Mobile Tennis Center and near the University of South Alabama campus.
Tee times can sometimes be hard to get at the course, which was designed by Robert Bruce Harris, who was best friends with Donald Ross. The course opened on Labor Day weekend in 1957 and for four years was home to the PGA’s Sertoma Open (1959-62), which one year was won by Arnold Palmer.
Harris’ design continues to challenge today. From the tips, Azalea City Golf Course plays to 6,840 yards. It plays 6,548 yards from the white tees, 5,821 from the gold tees and 5,347 yards from the red tees.
The course was in terrific condition in late July, with its Champion Bermuda greens running fast and true and its Bermuda 419 tees and fairways in excellent condition.
It is the balance in Harris’ design that stands out most about the course. Some holes play to a definite left-to-right swing, while others feature a more right-to-left direction. There are also holes that feature straight-ahead play and other situations where players must hit blind shots.
Take the par-3 holes as an example of the different challenge golfers face at Azalea City. On the front nine, No. 4 is a 155-yard (from the white tees), downhill hole, while No. 8, a 167-yarder, offers a bit more yardage and challenge. On the back nine, No. 13 offers a 142-yard uphill layout and No. 17 requires a lot more pop at 197 yards though it is flat and straight ahead.
A fun aspect of Azalea City Golf Course is that players will be required to use all the clubs in their bag. There isn’t a lot of danger, with players having a chance to salvage some wayward shots, but there are challenges along the way. With the winding layout, wind direction changes constantly during a round.
Overall, it is a course that is appreciated by low-handicap players and high-handicappers alike.
The course’s signature hole is the par-4 10th hole, which features an elevated tee box, a wide fairway and the downhill approach to the green. Standing on the 10th tee, players get a scenic view of the area that surrounds the course.
One of the reasons for the popularity of Azalea City is its rates, which are reasonable, especially in the Mobile area. Morning rates are $25 for 18, or $43 with a cart. Afternoon rates are $17 for 18, or $35 with a cart. The 9-hole cost with a cart is $27 any time. Memberships are $1,200 annually or $700 for a Monday-Friday membership.
Lawrence Auer is the head professional at Azalea City Golf Course and Brian Aaron is the course superintendent, who stays busy — and is praised for his work — as the course averages a high volume of play most every day. The course is owned and operated by the City of Mobile.
In all, a fun round of golf awaits those who plat at Azalea City Golf Course.
Contact info: 251-208-5150. Visit azaleacitygolfcourse.com.
Tommy Hicks is an Alabama Golf News Contributor
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Featured image: courtesy of the Tommy Hicks
